


Bad Moon Rising

by dragons_and_angels



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Age Changes, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Auror Remus Lupin, Bisexual Nymphadora Tonks, Case Fic, F/M, No Horcruxes, No Second War
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-07
Updated: 2020-04-07
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23528932
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragons_and_angels/pseuds/dragons_and_angels
Summary: James, Lily and Voldemort all died on Halloween night. Years later, Remus is working in the Auror Department on a confusing case of a transformed werewolf stalking a family outside of a full moon and is assigned brilliant new Auror, Nymphadora Tonks, to work with him.
Relationships: Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks
Comments: 6
Kudos: 33
Collections: Remus Lupin Fest 2020





	Bad Moon Rising

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt was 'Case fic! Remus and Tonks are Aurors but, thanks to the large size of the department, have never had much contact with each other. That is, until his or her partner retires suddenly and they’re paired together and sent out to investigate a particularly bad case. I’m talking stakeouts, bed sharing, having to come out as a werewolf — all leading to them falling for one another.' 
> 
> Thank you very much to G for being my beta, this fic only makes half as much sense because of them! All mistakes are my own. This was going to be a massive long epic of a fic but I definitely did not have time to do that so I rewrote it to a far more manageable length. 
> 
> Regarding the age changes - Tonks is only a few years younger than the Marauders so she attended Hogwarts with them.

Of all the people Remus thought he would get stuck with, he never thought it would be Sirius' cousin. Apart from the fact that the large number of Aurors in the department after the war ended meant it was statistically unlikely, Nymphadora Tonks was the darling of the department. Remus had heard many admiring statements about the cases she worked, and a few jealous mutterings. But Remus knew Mad-Eye and, if he picked Tonks as his protegée, then the young witch was everything and more. 

None of which helped Remus feel more comfortable around her. He’d had a vague awareness of her in school, mostly from Sirius, but it had never progressed past that point. When he and his friends left Hogwarts, they headed straight into the middle of a war, and everything else had seemed very secondary to that. But now she had turned up at his desk, saying that she had been assigned to him for the case, and asking if he minded. Her face said she knew it was polite to ask, but she wasn't going away no matter what his answer. Remus was instantly taken with her.

"No, I could use your help." Remus smiled at Tonks. "Mark is going to be on paternity leave for the whole six weeks, and I would like a partner in this case." 

Mad-Eye had discussed it with him this morning – if you could call a few grunted words a discussion – and so Remus wasn't completely taken aback to have Auror Tonks sitting in front of his desk and asking for his notes on the Greengrass case. 

"Six weeks? He's really taking advantage of these new laws," Tonks mused as she skimmed through the file Remus had in front of him. She looked up suddenly, her eyes a caramel brown, which strangely went quite well with her mint-green hair. "You shared a dorm with Sirius, right? You pulled him out of trouble a few times, he said." A smile turned up one corner of her mouth, and Remus stared just a beat too long. 

"Yes, yes, that's right. Though not all the time; he and James got up to far too much trouble for that." As always, Remus felt his heart twist at the mention of James. It had been nearly three years since James and Lily had been killed; the last casualties of the war and heralded as heroes because of it.

"Yeah, he's mentioned it a couple of times." Tonks seemed to sense the change of mood, for she abruptly changed the subject. "Anyway, I don't know what he's told you about me, so let's start from the beginning. I'm Tonks and I hate my first name so don't call me by it." She held out her hand across the desk and Remus took it, completely charmed. 

"Remus Lupin. And that hated first name is...?" 

"Sneaky," Tonks said approvingly. "But no dice. Tell me about this case. I was in the same year as a couple of Greengrasses at school. Are they the same ones?" 

Remus raised his eyebrows and turned the profiles around to her. He saw relief on her face, quickly covered up by a professional smile. "No, it looks like a different branch of the family."

"It seemed like a straightforward case at first." Remus slipped into what Sirius called his 'Auror' mode. James and Sirius had always seemed to be the Aurors of the group, brilliant, and brave, and excellent at catching Dark Wizards. But then James had died without his wand in his hand and Sirius had moved into Healing, saying he had always wanted to do it but never had the chance while the war was going on. 

"Arnold Greengrass saw something outside his house a week ago and it was written off by most of the family as a joke. He's one hundred and eleven, and already growing particular about things." 

"You can say growing senile, you know," Tonks said with a small smile. "Though sometimes I think elderly people just use their age as an excuse to do and say what they want."

Remus nodded at her point. "He did give that impression. When I questioned him, his mind seemed completely there and he was proud to tell me that, although his hearing was dreadful, he could see better than an owl in the dark." 

"So, what happened to turn this into something other than straightforward?" Tonks asked. She pulled out a photo and her eyes narrowed. 

"Exactly." 

And there was the part Remus liked the least. He knew why he had been put on this case; his superiors knew about his condition, even if his wider colleagues didn't. But that didn't make confronting it any easier. "There was a large paw print in the grass, and the angled toes say that it was a transformed werewolf." 

Tonks seemed to be working something out in her head. "But it wasn't a full moon three nights ago." 

"Exactly," Remus said, grimly. "And hasn't been for nearly a fortnight now. If it was a day's discrepancy, I could say it was due to Mr Greengrass' confusion about the dates. But he saw a dark shadow and, when the ground was examined the next day, mostly to humour him I would say, this was discovered."

"And isn't that really strange behaviour for a transformed werewolf?" Tonks asked and, for a heartstopping moment, Remus thought she was asking him as a werewolf himself. But no, she was just thinking he had enough knowledge. 

"Yes, it is." He coughed, his throat dry after the scare. "Transformed werewolves would not walk up through the gardens, stare at the house and calmly walk away."

"That is really odd," Tonks said. She was reading one of the witness statements now. "What was your next plan of attack?"

"Mr Greengrass saw the shadow a week ago. Two nights later, his daughter-in-law, Marigold Greengrass, said she saw something closer to the house. Footprints confirm her story. Two nights after that, the granddaughters, Daphne and Astoria, said they saw a 'scary dog' in the garden." Remus turned over what he had of the case so far. It was an odd one, because it sounded like a werewolf but a transformed, careful werewolf outside of the full moon was impossible.

"Stakeout?" Tonks asked and Remus nodded. 

"Nothing serious has happened, but the Greengrass family feel like they are being threatened."

***

That night, on stakeout, Remus found himself regretting what had led him to this point. He had gone to visit Sirius and Harry that evening. Harry had been delightful as ever, but Sirius had managed to find out his new working relationship with Tonks and had teased him dreadfully. And then Remus had turned up to find Tonks had her hair short and black. He thought it would wash her out but, instead, it went well with her infectious smile and the black robes she had on. 

"Where are we going to set up?" Tonks asked, quietly. Remus led her around the summer house and the pavilion, until they were in a shadowed part of the garden. They could view most of the garden and had the forest behind them. Remus had set up a small tent, which had a kitchen and a bathroom; perfect for stakeouts where there was limited space. 

"Excellent," Tonks said happily, when she took a tour of the tent. She looked around at the gardens. "Very fancy. I thought the Greengrass family weren't too high up on the social ladder."

Remus laid down the silencing charms and conjured two chairs for them to sit back against the shadow of the wall. The tent had a Disillusionment Charm on it.

"When I talked to Sirius this afternoon about what he knew on the Greengrasses, he said they stayed out of everything. They pride themselves at being neutral and do well for themselves, but they're really private."

"I'm guessing they weren't so eager to hang out with the Blacks then." Tonks sat down in the chair next to him. Remus could feel her warmth even when she wasn't touching him. "I went to school with Arnold Greengrass' nieces."

"Hmmm?" Remus glanced at Tonks, despite knowing he had looked a few too many times in the past five minutes. 

"Clementine and Delphine Greengrass. We bonded over our atrocious first names." 

Remus snorted with laughter. "You think those names were bad? In the year below mine, there was a boy called Seaman Fartsworth. Poor kid had no chance." 

Tonks paused for a moment. "Okay, that is fairly terrible. But I did have a girl in my year in Ravenclaw called Honoria. Not as bad as it could be, but still pretty dreadful." 

They moved on from their schoolmates to their colleagues. Tonks was delightful to talk to, chatting when conversation came up, but happy to let silence stretch when it came up naturally. Remus wondered when was the last time he’d had such a good time with a woman like this, or anyone really. He and Sirius had the ease of history and old friendship, but even Sirius wasn't as delightful to talk to as Tonks. 

It wasn't until it was half past two in the morning when something started to happen. Remus had rested his head against the wall and was looking up at the Greengrass mansion, wondering why the Black family didn't build something like that, when he noticed something shift out of the corner of his eye. He and Tonks exchanged a look and both slowly got to their feet, unsheathing their wands. 

The moon was waning; full enough to give them some dim light to see by, though not enough to actually distinguish what the creature was. It moved slowly and smoothly, but there was something bizarre about it. It was as if the light wasn't hitting it as it should have, and it almost seemed to go transparent at times. 

Tonks started off towards it, hugging the shadow of the building, and Remus followed in her footsteps. They were about fifteen feet away when the creature noticed them. In the blink of an eye, the creature went from menacing shadow to a snarling, all too real threat. Remus threw Stunning Spells at the creature as fast as he could and, judging by the red light from Tonks' wand, she was doing the same. The creature dodged each one, moving far more nimbly than Remus would have thought for a creature that size. 

It twisted to avoid two Stunners from both of them at the same time, and leapt through the wall of the summer house, disappearing from view. 

"What the fuck?" Tonks muttered and Remus hummed his agreement. They both ran to the entrance of the summer house, only to find it completely empty. The summer house consisted of a small living room and a loft bedroom, seemingly meant for the occasional guests served by house elves, rather than for having anyone actually live there. The wall which the creature had supposedly come from was blank, apart from a picture of a Welsh Green dragon, who gave them both a menacing look. 

Remus went inside, casting _Lumos_ so he could examine everything clearly. He walked up and down the length of the small house, giving special attention to the wall the creature had supposedly come through. Tonks followed him in and turned to look outside the door to the summer house. 

"It's not outside," she said quietly. "It's vanished, but you can't Disapparate this close to the main house. Arnold Greengrass told me." 

"It was solid, and then it wasn't. Do you think it was some kind of spell?" Remus asked. There was nothing that could give any hint of a clue. The furniture all had sheets on them, as well as careful preservation spells, but nothing appeared disturbed. There were no markings, no spell marks, nothing to indicate anything unusual had happened. 

"Maybe. We can't say it wasn't. But Charlie used to say that it was really arrogant of witches and wizards to say we had discovered all the magical creatures species which exist. Who's to say this wasn't a new creature?" Remus had to stifle a surge of something unpleasant in his stomach at hearing Tonks talk about 'Charlie' so casually. "The creature showed no signs of being bothered by the wall, but it has left footprints behind, and I don't see why it would bother dodging our spells so much if it wasn't vulnerable to magic." 

"That makes sense." Remus finished his examination of the house. "Nothing here." 

"And I haven't seen any sign of the creature." Tonks did not lower her wand and Remus, seeing the value of this, kept his up as well. 

"Back to the tent?" Remus asked and Tonks nodded. 

"It may come out if it thinks itself alone." 

They headed back, but not before ducking behind the pavilion and casting Disillusionment Charms on themselves. It wasn't invisibility but it was nearly as good as in the dark. 

"Get some sleep, Remus. I'll wake you in a couple of hours and we can do it in shifts," Tonks said when they were a little closer to the tent. It seemed the time for talking was finished. 

The rest of the night was uneventful, and both of them disappeared when the sun came up, not wanting to be interrogated by the Greengrass family about any progress. Remus offered Tonks some breakfast, which she gladly accepted. He sent off a quick Patronus Charm to Sirius and then Side-along Apparated her to a grass field. 

"I enjoy a picnic as much as the next girl, but this morning might not be the best." A cool drizzle had started up and Tonks had pulled her cloak around her tightly. Remus gave her an apologetic smile. 

"Breakfast at my place would have been a slice of toast and maybe a spot of tea. I normally go to Sirius' for breakfast." 

"Cousin Sirius? It's been a while since I saw him." Tonks gave him a bright smile but there appeared to be a shadow of nerves behind it. 

"It's up here," Remus said, starting off across the field and then quickly had to catch Tonks as she tripped over a rabbit hole.

"Thanks." She blew hair out of her eyes with an irritated huff. The next moment it was jet-black and sticking straight up in spikes. Remus smiled at the sight of it. "My mother has been worrying about Sirius ever since the whole You-Know-Who getting blasted into pieces happened." 

It was very blunt, far different from the usual tiptoeing around the subject Remus normally got. He let out a laugh, taking both of them by surprise. He felt the usual pang of sadness for James and Lily, but Tonks' approach meant his grief wasn't the focus of the conversation. 

"Yes, he has been hard to get out of the house for anything but work. He says people have gotten worse over the years and now he just mostly avoids them." Remus was far more worried about Sirius than he ever let on, but he could see the logic behind it. And Sirius was doing better, finally able to talk about James and Lily without storming off and flinging wooden rat figures into the fireplace out of his avoidance of the firewhiskey. 

"Why would he need to avoid them?" Tonks asked and then shuddered as she went through some of the protection ward spells. "Oh, that feels strange." 

Remus was impressed she had been able to feel them, at least that first layer. "You'll see in a second." He held up his wand and felt the wards recognise him. They started to heat up when Tonks walked forwards, and Remus quickly did the visitor acceptance spell on both Tonks and the wards. She would be allowed in now, but not have permanent access. Remus disagreed with how few people Sirius let have permanent access (not even Dumbledore made the list) but he could see the logic of it. 

"This is a lot for breakfast," Tonks said. Her eyes were sharp on Remus' wand and he knew she had started to realise what was going to happen. 

Remus knew it was. If asked, he would say it was because Tonks was Sirius' cousin and Sirius needed to see other adults apart from Remus, Minerva McGonagall and Pandora Lovegood. But he didn't think he would bring her here if he hadn't spent the night with her and felt that instant trust. Deeper than an Auror would feel for their partner, he trusted her with Harry and that was something he couldn't explain. 

"If you want to leave and go to the Leaky Cauldron instead, just tell me." He kept calm as he continued walking but looked out of the corner of his eye at Tonks. 

"I didn't say it was too much." Tonks walked a little faster in order to nudge her elbow against his. "It would be good to see Sirius again. I saw him a couple of times during the war but then Mum, Dad and I had to go into hiding thanks to my batshit aunt, and I haven't really seen him since. I know he's not a fan of the Ministry." 

"He doesn't mind the people he's met from the Ministry but, as a whole, no, he doesn't." Remus was pretty sure Sirius had not forgiven the Ministry for trying to get custody of Harry after James and Lily died. Neither had Remus, for that matter, and he worked for the Ministry. Sirius and Dumbledore had a rocky relationship now, but Remus knew Sirius was grateful that Dumbledore had blocked the Ministry's attempts to gain custody. 

They stopped at a twist of trees, which had grown together in a tangle, and behind them was a small clearing. "The address is _The Willows, Forest of Dean, England._ " Remus could already see the house, a stone building tucked into a clutch of trees but he could hear from Tonks' gasp that she could see it for the first time. 

"The Fidelius Charm," she breathed. Her eyes seemed bigger than before as she looked at the cottage. Her hair had gone from a spiky black to a wonderful bubble-gum pink, and Remus felt a spike of desire, which he covered up by striding forwards to the front door. He knocked gently, knowing Sirius would get the signal. 

They both waited patiently and were rewarded when the front door cracked open, revealing one grey eye and the point of a wand. 

"The one place not on the map," Sirius said, more of an order than a question. 

"The Come and Go Room," Remus said calmly, and the door opened a little wider. Sirius' wand turned on Tonks, and she bore the suspicion with aplomb. 

"Hey, cuz," she said, "if Mum were here, she would say you look bloody awful."

Sirius' lips twitched but he didn't lower his wand. "What did you confess to me when you were fourteen?" 

Tonks went a furious red, right down to the tips of her hair. "You have got to be kidding me." She groaned when Sirius didn't answer. "Fine, fine. I confessed I had a crush on Lily. You happy?" 

Remus blinked. He was both amused and disappointed, though he certainly wasn't going to examine the latter too closely. Tonks' answer had Sirius lowering his wand and stepping back from the doorway. "Come in then." 

There was a lot of mumbling as both Remus and Tonks took their cloaks off in the darkened hallway, as Sirius disappeared through the door and into the playroom at the back of the house. 

"You get a question about a map and I get one about my teenage crush. How is that fair?" Tonks asked, but didn't seem to want an answer. She followed Remus into the sitting room, tripping over the leg of one of the chairs as she did so. 

The sitting room had a sofa and two large armchairs, along with a coffee table, around which were three large cushions. 

"No dining room," Remus said as he pulled off another cushion and put it down at the end of the table. 

Sirius came into the room, carrying Harry in his arms. The boy had his arms around Sirius' neck and his big green eyes blinked at Remus and Tonks from behind his round, black glasses. He was almost the spitting image of James, though he had Lily's eyes and her laugh. When he caught sight of Remus, he smiled widely. 

"Remus!" He looked like he wanted to say hello but he caught sight of Tonks and became shy again. "Hello," he said, very politely. 

"Hi," Tonks said, with a dimpled grin. Her hair was turning back to pink now, and Harry watched it with fascination. 

"How does your hair change?" he asked, again very politely, but Remus could see his excitement. He knew magic, Sirius used it more naturally than most, but Harry had endless amounts of questions about it all the same. 

"I'm a Metamorphagus," Tonks answered. "It means I can change my appearance when I want to." And then she changed her nose into a pig's snout. Harry let out a high-pitched giggle and Sirius and Remus both smiled at the sound. 

Sirius put Harry down and he approached Tonks, holding out one hand very properly. "I'm Harry Potter." 

Remus could see the surprise flare in Tonks' eyes but she kept her smile on her face and took Harry's hand. "I'm Nymphadora Tonks." 

"Ah, Nymphadora," Remus said, unable to help himself. 

Tonks shot him a semi-annoyed look. "Ugh you." 

"It's a lovely name," Remus defended himself. And it was. Unusual and yet, strangely beautiful. Very like the woman herself, in her own way. He knew he could not use her first name, but he mentally relabelled her. Tonks suited her as an Auror, but Nymphadora suited her as a person. 

"Harry, you okay here with Tonks for the mo?" Sirius said quietly. "Remus is going to help me get the food from the kitchen." 

Harry looked uncertain for a moment but gave Sirius a brave nod. He sat down at one of the cushions and Nymphadora copied him, one cushion away so he did not get intimidated. 

"Why don't you like your first name?" Harry asked, as Remus followed Sirius into the kitchen. 

"So, you and my baby cousin," Sirius said as he started to pull out some bread to toast. 

"No," Remus said instantly. "That's not how it is. I didn't bring her because of that." 

"Not only because of that, you mean," Sirius said, with a roll of his eyes. "Relax. I know you wouldn't have brought someone here just because you fancy them. So why did you?" 

"Harry needs to talk to other kids, and you need to talk to other adults." This was not a new argument, and he could see Sirius' lips tightening. He no longer shouted and stormed around like he had when he was a teenager. Harry spent six months with Lily's sister and had come out far quieter and with a dislike for shouting. It left Remus with a slow-burning anger towards the Dursleys, and pity for the child still left behind. Sirius was only left with the anger and a drive to restrain his emotions in a way he never had before.

"I'm fine." Sirius pulled out the cereal Harry liked. "Get the jam and marmalade, would you?" 

Remus pulled out the little stand of jam, marmalade and butter Sirius had set up for breakfast. Harry loved eating a full spread out breakfast, much like one in those Muggle books Remus had brought around last year, and Sirius indulged him whenever he could. They could hear Harry and Tonks' voices in the other room, both light and chatty, so neither of them hurried. 

"You're better, Sirius. You're not fine." Remus put the kettle on and started to get cups out of the cupboard. Harry wasn't allowed tea but Sirius normally gave him warm milk in the morning in a mug, designed to make him feel like a grown-up. 

"I'm trying, Remus," Sirius said and Remus could not disagree. "Pandora said she could organise a playdate with Cora Diggory and her son, Cedric. There are the Weasleys, of course, but I don't want to overwhelm Harry with all their kids at once. Pandora says Cedric is older by a few years, and very kind to Luna." 

"That's a good plan," Remus said. "Are you thinking about introducing Harry to the Weasleys after? Arthur Weasley is a good man." A better man than Amos Diggory in Remus' opinion, but Pandora Lovegood was a very good judge of character. 

"Yes, maybe when Harry is a little older." Sirius cocked his head as he put bacon and sausages into a frying pan. "It sounds like he and Dora are getting on." Sirius gave Remus a look. "You want me to talk to Dora, don't you?" 

Remus hummed a little, in neither agreement or disagreement. Sirius was in a good mood today, and Remus didn't want to push him. "I think she misses you." Remus remembered seeing them together a fair bit at Hogwarts, though Nymphadora had never hung around the Marauders. 

Sirius didn't answer, his back to Remus as he concentrated on cooking. Remus waited a minute as he got the tea ready but, when Sirius said nothing, he took the toast, tea and cereal into the sitting room; the toast and cereal floating behind him as he carried the tea tray. 

Nymphadora had turned her hair black and white striped and was taking requests from Harry when Remus came in. She brightened up at the sight of him or, more likely, the sight of food. 

"Yum!" Harry said as he caught sight of the box of cereal. Remus put everything down on the table and then headed back to get some bowls, plates and cutlery as Harry got everything organised on the table just how he liked it. When he came back in, Harry directed him to the spot at the end of the table, opposite Harry and sandwiched in between Sirius and Nymphadora. "Tonks said she and Sirius are cousins, sort of. Her mum is Sirius' cousin." 

"We're from the nicer half of the family," Nymphadora said as she thanked Remus for the cup of tea he handed her. The smell of bacon was wafting through the door, making Remus ravenous. Exhaustion was dogging his footsteps, and he wondered whether he could nap here before Apparating back, or whether Sirius would want him to take Nymphadora straight home. 

Harry asked a question, and Remus let the words wash over him as he dug into his toast. When Sirius came in with the rest of the food, Harry had finished one bowl of cereal and was nose deep into his warm milk. 

"You really know how to treat someone for breakfast, Sirius," Nymphadora said. She ate with the appetite of someone who had been up for nearly eighteen hours, and Remus smiled at the sight of it. 

"Of course, cousin," Sirius said cheerfully. 

"We have our own chickens," Harry said and Nymphadora gave this the suitable amount of attention, allowing Harry to tell her about their vegetable garden and the nearby farm where they got butter, milk and cheese regularly. Harry blossomed under the attention of someone new and Remus saw Sirius notice this. 

It took Harry finishing his breakfast and disappearing into the playroom before conversation could move on. 

"He's a great kid," Nymphadora said, and Sirius softened towards her more. It seemed he was getting to the same level of comfort with Nymphadora as Remus was, though he really hoped it was for different reasons. Conversation turned around to family, with Nymphadora bringing up her mother and Sirius talking about Harry possibly meeting her and Ted Tonks. 

"Speaking of family, do you know if your mother is still an alive recluse, or a dead one?" Nymphadora's question had Sirius' eyebrows shooting up and Remus looking between the two of them warily. 

"Not beating around the bush, cousin," Sirius said. There was an easy smile on his face and Remus wondered if Nymphadora could hear the warning underneath. 

"Well, you have to admit – the Black family library would be a useful thing to have for our case." Nymphadora put her hands up in a peaceful gesture. "Mentioning Mum made me think of it. She said it was the one thing she liked about that house, and that was including your room, Sirius." 

Sirius cracked a smile – a genuine one – at this, and Remus relaxed a little. "What's going on with your case?" 

Nymphadora raised one eyebrow at Remus. It wasn't strictly correct but then, again, who would Sirius tell? Remus nodded and Nymphadora wasted no time, talking about the creature and how it disappeared through walls but could interact with the outside world, judging by the footprints. She was careful not to mention the family name, though, and Sirius, unsurprisingly, picked up on it. 

"That is strange. And you said it was the footprint of a transformed werewolf, despite there being no full moon?" Sirius asked. He was not looking at Remus, but it felt very pointed. "Is the family you don't want to mention the name of particularly scared of them, or something?"

Nymphadora rolled her eyes. "So I'm not that subtle. It's not screaming anything nasty at the moment, but I can't help feeling that something is going on."

Sirius frowned. "I'll talk to Pandora. She has enough books to fill a house, let alone a library, and unusual spellwork is her speciality." 

"Might need to bring her in as a consultant," Remus remarked. 

"Pandora? Like Pandora Lovegood? Married to Xenophilius Lovegood, helps with running _The Quibbler_?" Nymphadora asked. 

"You've met them?" Remus asked and, out of the corner of his eye, could see Sirius bracing himself, eyes narrowed. Sirius didn't have much patience with Xenophilius but he liked Pandora and especially liked how her daughter, Luna, had accepted Harry's presence without question. Harry loved Luna as well and especially liked how she would help him find frogs in the pond out back. 

"Oh yeah! Something was published in _The Quibbler_ a year ago that had everyone panicking. Turns out one of Xenophilius' reporters was an actual inside source in the Auror Department. He was very disappointed to find out that he actually had a Ministry employee as a source. Mum knows Pandora Lovegood from some sort of book club thing. Said she is the smartest person she has ever met; that she knows everything about subjects that interest her, and nothing about subjects that don't." 

Sirius snorted. "Sounds about right." 

Harry wandered in then with a model of a dragon: one of the larger, black kinds, which Remus didn't know the name of, and all adult conversation stopped. Nymphadora and Remus begged off; Nymphadora to go home and Remus to go and sleep some, but they made plans for another stakeout that night. 

***

It was not until the third night of staking out the house that the creature showed up again. Remus was the one who was up at this point, with Nymphadora trading off on watch, and he sent a quick alarm from his wand to hers. She tripped out of the tent, but managed to do it fairly quietly, and came to watch the creature with Remus. 

"It's changed," she breathed into his ear and he had to repress the shivers. She was right though; the creature seemed to be bigger and more menacing this time. It was as if someone had taken a werewolf and expanded its shoulders and back legs, destroying the smooth lines of its body, and making its gait uneven. 

Remus felt his shoulders tense up as he raised his wand to aim it directly at the creature. "Surprise attack?" he asked as quietly as possible. Nymphadora nodded. As if one, they fired a spell, red from Remus and blue from Nymphadora. Both hit the creature straight on but it reared up, mouth open in silent anger. It turned on them, and Remus saw what other people saw on him at the full moon. Yellow eyes glared hatefully at him, and he felt something inside him twist; to know that he was like this creature one night a month. It was not a werewolf, could not be a werewolf, but it looked so like it that it made Remus wonder if there was a person behind that face. 

It sprinted towards them, and all thoughts were driven out of Remus' head. His world narrowed down to the spells which he shot non-verbally at the creature. He needed every advantage because the creature was fast, splitting Nymphadora and him up and snapping at each of them in turn whenever they got a spell off. It did not dodge like last time, but the spells seemed to do nothing but irritate it. 

The strangest thing was that it wasn't making any sounds. No growls, no huffs of breath, not even the wind rushing past it as it moved. Remus had no time to wonder about it just then, but he filed the information away, ready to be pulled out and reflected on when he had the chance. 

It rounded on Nymphadora and she fired two spells on it, one of which made it rear its head. Remus, fed up with trying stunners, fired a cutting curse at one of the back legs. 

It happened too fast for his brain to process. His view changed, pain streaked through his shoulder and all of a sudden he was airborne, and a sliver of the moon was shining down on him. Years ago his boggart had been a full moon, but he didn't know whether that was still true. 

After he had collapsed on the ground, everything was very quiet. Remus lifted his head to find the creature was still attacking Nymphadora and he tried to push himself up, careful not to use his left shoulder after the pain almost made him black out. He saw his wand over by one of the creature's back legs. Suddenly he wished he had listened to Sirius when he had talked about the benefits of learning how to do the Summoning Charm wandlessly. 

"Remus, you alright?" Nymphadora asked, not taking her eyes off the beast. 

"Try Cutting Charms! It seemed to hurt it," Remus yelled back, though it was more of a croak than anything else. Nymphadora's wand movements seemed to change, become sharper and more pointed. The beast seemed to scream in pain, still completely silently. Remus pulled himself to his feet, though it was a very shaky state of affairs. 

The beast shied away from another one of Nymphadora's spells and eventually retreated, bounding away from the house. Remus started to walk over to his wand and Nymphadora, careful to keep his eyes looking forward and ignoring the blackness on the edges of his vision. 

"Remus, are you okay?' Nymphadora said and Remus tried to give her a reassuring smile but, judging by the concerned look, it didn't work. 

"My wand," he said and Nymphadora turned and scanned around before picking up his wand and handing it back to him. Remus took it and put it back in the inside pocket of his robes. "Nymphadora," he said as the blackness started to creep over his vision. "I may pass out." 

"Remus, no - " It was the last thing he heard before the blackness took over completely. 

Things were a jumble after that. He woke up at some point when a firm, no-nonsense kind of voice demanded his name and date of birth. 

"Remus Lupin, tenth of March, 1960," he answered. He felt faintly sick, but tried not to think about it. 

"Previous medical conditions or allergies?" the voice asked again. 

"Lycanthropy," he mumbled. He wished he didn't have to disclose it and he wished he could open his eyes to see who was around him to hear. "Allergic to pure wolfsbane." 

"Do your job," Nymphadora snarled next to him and he turned his head towards her, finally managing to open his eyes enough to peer out through his eyelashes. Nymphadora was there, holding his uninjured hand and she was glaring fiercely at someone Remus couldn't see. 

_Oh._ She had heard. 

"But - " A timid voice said. 

"The Auror is right. This does not reflect well on you. Out." The no-nonsense voice was ice-cold, but warmed when it started to speak to Nymphadora. Remus was too tired and too filled with dread at the thought of Nymphadora hearing about him being a werewolf to try and stay awake. 

His dreams were strange, and sometimes he couldn't tell what was dream and what was reality. One moment he would be in a hospital room – St Mungo's he was sure – and then the hospital room would warp into the Whomping Willow. Sirius was there, his cheeks more gaunt than they had been when he was a teenager, and then Sirius turned into Lily and James cooing over Harry. It was an unpleasant feeling, and Remus chose the blackness whenever he could. 

It felt like it had been a long time when he woke up. Light was shining through his eyelids and Sirius was there, arguing with a strange woman. 

"He's asleep! And even if he was awake, he doesn't want to be bothered by your useless apologies." Sirius sounded tired and irritated, and Remus wondered where Harry was. Sirius would never be raising his voice like this if Harry were around. 

"All apologies are useless," the woman said. Her voice was cold, with the same clipped accent Sirius had come to Hogwarts with. "But some people like to hear them all the same." 

"If it's not even genuine, then he definitely doesn't need to hear it," Sirius snapped. 

"I never said it was not genuine. My mother has never been a particularly good person, or a good mother for that matter, but I never thought she would try and curse her nephew like that." 

Remus started to get his thoughts in order, using the conversation and the time he had been asleep to process what was going on. His body felt stiff and heavy, and his shoulder strangely numb, but he felt more and more clear-headed with every passing moment. He was used to pain and aches, but he hated his mind being muggy. 

"It's a nasty fucking curse," Sirius said. 

"Well, I'm not going to disagree with you, but if you are even thinking about blaming me for what my mother did..." The voice trailed off threateningly. 

"You'll do what?" Sirius asked nastily. 

"Considering your mother, I wouldn't be so quick to judge others on their parentage," the voice was just as nasty, and Remus thought it was a good time to wake up. He forced his eyelids open and was immediately regretful of the fact. The light had been the sun, and it was shining brightly right into Remus' face. 

The woman was dark-haired and slim, with a sharp, angular face, pale skin and dark eyes. She had a face that said she did not smile often, and she glared at Sirius like she wished to push him out of the window right then and there. 

"Who are you?" Remus asked, or meant to ask. It came out as some kind of dry croak, but it had the effect of getting the attention of both of them. Sirius offered him some water and Remus sipped it gratefully. A second later, his pillow was enlarged, sitting him up enough that Remus could look at Sirius and the strange woman without having to crane his neck. 

"Good afternoon," the woman said in a far kinder voice than the one she had used on Sirius. "My name is Delphine Greengrass and I have come to see how you are doing, especially since it was my mother who did this to you. My sister would be here as well, but she has contracted an infection and thought it best not to come into hospital." 

Sirius made a face behind Delphine and her smile became more fixed. She had sharp eyes, or, at least, very good peripheral vision. 

"It's nice to meet you," Remus said, politely, though he had no idea of what she was talking about. The name rang a bell and, a moment later, Remus’ brain made the connection. "Oh, Delphine! Did you go to Hogwarts with Nymphadora?" The woman's smile became softer and far more genuine. 

"Yes, we were in the same year."

"Wait, you were that little Slytherin girl that followed Snivellus around in fourth year?" Sirius asked. "You barely hung out with anyone." He regarded Delphine with great suspicion, and Remus couldn't help but feel far more tense after that. 

Snape had gone on to become a Death Eater and, if this woman was one of them as well… However, the Greengrass family were famous for being neutral in the war. Not completely innocent, though, judging from the sound of Delphine's mother. 

Delphine looked like she was thinking about which curse to use on Sirius first, when the door opened and Nymphadora stepped in. 

"Dora!" Delphine's face lit up and, when Nymphadora smiled at her, Remus felt a stab of jealousy. He remembered Nymphadora's revelation about Lily, and then the reveal of his condition, and so Remus shoved all the feelings back in the box where they belonged. 

"Hey, Del," she said. When she noticed Remus was awake, her smile lit up her face. "Remus, you look better." As she walked over to his bedside, the one unoccupied by Sirius and Delphine, she gave them an amused look. "I could hear your fighting from down the corridor." 

"I revealed I was in Slytherin at school and that my mother was the one who set the curse, so your cousin took against me." Delphine sounded haughty as anything, but Remus wondered if there was genuine upset under there. There was still a lot of prejudice against Slytherin house after the war was finished, and Remus couldn't exactly call himself innocent there. 

"Sirius can be an idiot sometimes," Nymphadora agreed easily, and Sirius protested. "Has either of you told Remus what’s happened, or have you just been arguing about Del's mother for however long he's been awake?" There was a guilty silence. "Yeah, thought so. Out, the both of you!" 

Sirius protested, but sighed and started to get up when Remus gave him a look. Delphine did not say anything; she merely moved around to the side of the bed and whispered something in Nymphadora's ear, which made her go red. 

Delphine's smile was rather like a cat who got the cream. "I will see you later, Dora. Auror Lupin, thank you for your kind words, and I do apologise for my mother causing you injury. I know she will never apologise herself." 

"Apology accepted." Remus nodded at her and was grateful for the apology, but was still very glad when she left, followed by Sirius. As soon as they were gone, Remus craned his head to look at Nymphadora. Her hair was a dark purple today, matching the shadows underneath her eyes. His emotions were a jumble, and he was unable to figure out what to address first. "Nymphadora," he started, only to falter. 

"The only reason I am letting you get away with that is because you're already in a hospital bed," Nymphadora said as she drew up one of the chairs and sat down on it. 

"What happened?" 

"Well, that's a long story." Nymphadora sighed. "I've already done my report, so you can read it whenever. I'll have to cut it short, lest you fall asleep again: Delphine's mother did not agree with her brother leaving the house to his son and daughter-in-law. She cursed the house and, more specifically, Arnold Greengrass, to be stalked by the creature we saw. It was meant to get more and more powerful the longer it stalked them, until it reached the full moon and attacked." 

"It would have been blamed on a werewolf attack, and she would be next in line to inherit." Remus felt his chest tighten. If the witch had succeeded, then it would have looked like a werewolf broke into a magical house and killed the entire family. Harsher werewolf laws would have been passed within the week; Remus would have been lucky to have kept his job. "She would have killed that entire family for that?" 

"Delphine always said her mother was awful, but I don't think anyone realised quite how awful." Nymphadora shook her head. "How are you feeling now? The Healer said the wounds were cursed, so they weren't able to heal them completely." 

"It's fine." Remus felt worse after a bad full moon. "I have no shortage of scars." 

An awkward silence fell as they both thought about the revelation that had come about during Remus' hospitalisation. Nymphadora ran a hand through her hair, making it stick up in tufts. 

"Remus, you know I don't care about you being a werewolf, right?" Nymphadora asked. She sounded unsure, but not about herself. It was almost like she did not know how he would react. 

"Nymphadora," he said and then did not know how to finish. "It changes things." 

"No, it doesn't." _Now_ she sounded certain. "The only difference now is that I know. You aren't a different person than you were two nights ago, when you got bitten by a curse-beast on the job. I'm the same person, and I still feel the same about you that I did then." She took a breath. "And since we're putting our cards on the table, I should say that I fancy you and have for a while. If I didn't know he was devoid of romance, I would say Mad-Eye put me to work with you because he wanted to give me a chance to tell you that." 

There were numerous arguments that Remus had prepared, mostly around the dangers of dating a werewolf; not just from the physical side, but also from the stigma. If it came out, Tonks would be tarred with the same brush, sure to be thought infected as well. 

"I'm living on borrowed time, Nymphadora," he said, letting his head drop back against the pillow. "Mad-Eye made me an Auror during war time because Aurors were needed, and he let me stay on because he knows I'm good. But the rest of the office will find out sooner rather than later, especially with me never working the full moon. And if we are dating, then you would get the same accusations." 

Nymphadora was smiling, and that was completely the opposite reaction to the one Remus was expecting. "That isn't a 'I'm not interested' or even a 'I think we should stay friends', so now I'm very hopeful," she said, honestly. 

Remus opened his mouth and then closed it again, amused despite himself. "I'm dangerous, Nymphadora," he said softly. "When I'm transformed, I don't know friend from foe."

"And you have managed it successfully up until this point," Nymphadora said, pointedly. "Dating me isn't going to stop you from being careful, and I'm not inclined to go and try to hug a transformed werewolf anytime soon." 

She had a point, and Remus wished he could just accept her yes; accept that she knew what she was getting into. But all he could think about was Mimi DuCannon. He had fancied her for most of his fourth year, up until they had the DADA lesson on werewolves. Hearing the girl he liked talk about rounding up all werewolves into captivity and allow them to tear each other to shreds had made him feel sick to his stomach, and put him off liking someone for a good few years after. 

Nymphadora was not Mimi DuCannon, and he would not do her the disservice of treating her like she was. But even the most good-hearted woman would start to find the prejudice and the rules tiring. Seeing Nymphadora's liking turn into lukewarm sentiment was the best case scenario in this situation. 

"I know I'm being unfair," he said, trying to explain. Trying to talk, like Lily always used to tell him to do. He had been suspected of being the spy during the war because he couldn't talk to anyone, even the parts that were not kept secret. "But the last person I fancied thought me a monster and I can't– that's in my head." Remus’ head was spinning, and he felt tired and achy, but he forced himself to stay awake. He had to make his point, she had to know. 

"Remus, I've met a monster in the last week, and it definitely is not you." Nymphadora laid one of her hands over his and he had to resist the temptation to turn his hand over and take hers in his. "The only monster was the witch who decided a house and some gold was worth more than the lives of seven family members, including her two young grand-nieces and the unborn child Marigold Greengrass is carrying. She wasn't even regretful when she was caught, and that is far more monstrous than anything you could be, full moon or not." 

Several trains of thought crashed, and Remus felt like he had just cleared all the clutter away from his mind. He wanted Nymphadora. He wanted to see her smile at him more like she was doing right then. He wanted to see how many different hair colours she would pick; wanted to meet her parents with her hand linked in his. 

He had never thought of himself as particularly brave, Gryffindor or not, especially regarding his condition. But she knew, and she still wanted him. He would hate himself forever if he didn't at least try to take this chance. 

"Nymphadora Tonks, would you go out with me?"

Her smile was as bright as the yellow her hair had become. "Yes, I think I will." Then her smile turned into more of a smirk. "But you had better stop calling me Nymphadora." 

Remus hummed neither an agreement or a disagreement, and then had to repress a smile when Nymphadora narrowed her eyes at him. At least he would get a chance to convince her how pretty her first name was.


End file.
